Record of Wortenia War: Volume 4

by Ryota Hori

  “Even your word cannot allow it... I would personally love to do so, of course, but...”

  Meltina truly wished to grant Lupis’s desire here. She doubted his being here would help that much to solving any problems, but he could at least serve as emotional support for Lupis. To that end, Meltina wanted him restored to his position just the same.

  But that wasn’t something she could approve of given the circumstances. In truth, Princess Lupis’s actions here were quite problematic. As trusted of a knight as he may be, she couldn’t allow him to evade punishment after failing twice.

  His first blunder of falling for Kael’s ploy may have been pardoned yet. But his second failure was a fatal one. Worse yet, in so doing he broke away from their original plan and consequently cost them their chance to crush Duke Gelhart.

  Some among the top brass even called for him to be executed. So lifting his house arrest was impossible, even with Princess Lupis’s authority. The foundation of her administration wasn’t solid yet, so she couldn’t afford to do anything that would shake the validity of her rule.

  “Yes... You’re right... I’m sorry, Meltina. I shouldn’t have said that...”

  Lupis understood that perfectly well. The problem was that even if her mind understood that, her emotions weren’t satisfied with this situation. Meltina sighed internally.

  “But enough about Mikhail for now... What of that other matter I mentioned?” Lupis asked Meltina, actively trying to shift her emotions.

  Mikhail wasn’t her only problem, after all.

  “You mean Ryoma Mikoshiba...? Well, it isn’t going well... We could easily make him a knight on a commanding officer’s level, but when it comes to a posting that would truly suit his achievements...”

  “I see...” Lupis frowned at Meltina’s answer.

  The problem at hand was how they were to handle Ryoma going forward. Princess Lupis has already helped him with his initial problem. Using the kingdom as her backing, she proved his innocence. But following that, he planned to leave the country.

  Soon after the rebellion ended, Lupis used her position as princess to send messengers to the many guilds’ offices, so they could clarify his situation. With that, Ryoma Mikoshiba and his allies were admitted to not be guilty. Their only complaint was that there was no evidence of foul play on the side of Wallace Heinkel, guildmaster of the town of Pherzaad. It was seen as a procedural error, and he wasn’t punished in any way. With Kael dying in battle against Ryoma, finding a testimony that would prove it was difficult.

  The other guildmasters weren’t keen on condemning one of their own without any evidence. There was no way of punishing him in reality. Still, Ryoma’s innocence was proven, and so Lupis had completed her promise.

  And that was why Ryoma and his allies had no reason to stay in the kingdom for long, and they could leave the country at any time. No one would have the right to stop them, either. And yet, Ryoma was still in the castle, here in the city of Pireas.

  That was because Lupis insisted that he stay until her coronation.

  “The knights are not seeing it favorably... Both the commoner and noble-born knights regard the idea negatively...”

  “Right...”

  “Giving a person who isn’t even a citizen of the kingdom an important post in national defense is probably unacceptable to too many people... At least, so I’d assume, but it’s reasoning that’s hard to refute. Still, letting a man of his caliber into the knights would result in one important post being manned. He’d only stand in the way of those aiming to climb up the ranks, so that’s probably part of the reason they’re refusing...”

  Lupis’s expression clouded over at Meltina’s explanation. Lupis feared Ryoma greatly, and that fear surged up all the more fiercely. At this moment, when she was before her coronation despite having been in a position of total inferiority, she was more terrified than ever before.

  “Were it up to me, I would have that man serve as knight by your side, Your Highness... But that man has no respect or loyalty towards you or Rhoadseria. He only acts in the service of his own ends... I’ve observed him over the last few months, and that is my impression of him. If nothing else, I think having him serve as a knight for the royal house is dangerous... But all the same...”

  She held Ryoma Mikoshiba’s abilities in high regard, and even those who were against his appointment agreed with that. In terms of skill alone, he was more than good enough to serve as a knight, or even more than that.

  But the fact he wasn’t trustworthy lowered their overall appraisal of him. Knights were the sword and shield of the kingdom, a crucial fighting force to ensure the ruler can keep the country under his control. But what if that force were controlled by someone who cannot be trusted? They’d simply relapse to the way things were during General Albrecht’s tenure. The king would become a puppet to the military and the country would be cast into disorder.

  Lupis needed to rearrange how the country worked from now on, and to that end, a person who cannot be trusted could not be promoted to the rank of knight. This was both her opinion, and the opinion of all of Rhoadseria’s leading figures.

  “But... The one thing we can’t let him do is leave the country like this!” Lupis raised her shaking voice in denial. “We absolutely can’t...! If he takes the side of another country...”

  In the end, this was what her fear boiled down to. He couldn’t be trusted to an important position under her, but at the same time letting him out of Rhoadseria was dangerous.

  “I know... And I agree with you, Your Highness...” Meltina parted her lips with hesitation. “But I believe that if this is the case, we must... Hmm...”

  Lupis deftly picked up on what Meltina was trying to say.

  “No... That alone is something I can’t approve of.” She shook her head in denial, which made Meltina fall quiet.

  Silence settled over the two. The measure Meltina didn’t quite put into words was one which the other leading figures of Rhoadseria had already proposed before.

  Assassination.

  Indeed, if they killed Ryoma, they wouldn’t have to worry about him joining another country and would be able to sleep soundly at night.

  That much is obvious... But he hasn’t turned against us yet, and he’s kept his promise to me. So can I really reward him for that not with gratitude, but with his death? And besides...

  Lupis was kind, for better and for worse. But most of all, she was intelligent enough. If she were foolish, she would simply fulfill her promise to Ryoma and send him on his way. If she were a viler person, she would have disregarded it and ordered his assassination.

  Her intelligence prevented her from sending him away from the country, but her being kind forbade her from having him assassinated. And at the same time, they couldn’t let this vagabond be appointed to the position of a knight.

  But there was another reason Princess Lupis didn’t choose the option of assassination. A reason she kept hidden in her heart at all costs...

  If we choose to have him assassinated, can our knights truly kill him? What if... What if they fail, and he realizes I was the one who ordered it...?

  Of course, the kingdom’s army put together would easily defeat Ryoma Mikoshiba as an individual. One man can’t stand up to a country. But he could escape. If one were to think of it rationally, the probability of him successfully escaping was below one in ten thousand.

  But it wasn’t zero.

  And she could feel Ryoma Mikoshiba had something that would reel that probability in. Same as how he made Lupis the queen of this country...

  That man... He’d never forgive me...

  That fear bound Lupis’s heart like a chain.

  “My apologies, Your Highness... Sir Sudou wishes to speak with you. Should I show him in?”

  The silence hanging between Lupis and Meltina was disturbed by a maid knocking on the door. Meltina confirmed that Lupis nodded in affirmation.

  “Let him through.” Meltina said.


  The door then opened, and Sudou entered, clad in a noble’s tunic.

  “My apologies, Your Highness... Oh? You look quite concerned,” Sudou said upon entering. “That simply won’t do... You’ll cloud over your fair face. It may be presumptuous of me, but I could give you my counsel, should you wish for it, Your Highness... No, pardon. Your Majesty.”

  He never was one for manners, but this time he went too far.

  “How dare you speak to Her Highness so rudely?!” Meltina drew her sword.

  Few people would blame her for her short temper given the situation. Sudou’s attitude was far too impolite to be used before royalty.

  “Put your sword away, Meltina... Sudou. You should learn some proper etiquette. I’ll overlook it this time, but next time you won’t be so lucky,” Lupis said menacingly.

  Sudou bowed his head respectfully at her words, though both of them understood it was only for form’s sake.

  “Fine... So, to what do I owe your visit? I’m quite busy, so do make it brief.”

  Lupis granted Sudou permission to take a seat, and cut straight to the heart of the matter.

  “Not to worry, I won’t take much of your time. I simply thought you seemed to be troubled over dealing with the aftermath of the war and thought I could do away with some of your concerns, assuming you would grant me the time to do so.”

  Lupis exchanged a glance with Meltina. She didn’t quite understand what Sudou was saying. Meltina was caught off guard too, however, and couldn’t find the right words.

  “I see... That’s very encouraging...” Lupis said suspiciously. “But do you even know what’s bothering me, Sudou?”

  “Certainly. Or rather, I’m sure any person with a bit of observation would come to this conclusion... You’re worried over how to deal with Ryoma Mikoshiba, yes?”

  Lupis desperately suppressed the shudder that ran through her. As the ruler of a kingdom, she couldn’t make her anxieties so clear.

  Don’t, Lupis! You can’t let this man see through you. Calm down... Stay calm!

  “Whatever do you mean, Sudou?” Lupis cocked her head questioningly, as if asking why he would say that.

  Of course, from Sudou’s perspective, her acting was on par with third rate theater.

  “My... So I was wrong... Then I apologize to have taken up this moment of your precious time.”

  Sudou said and rose to his feet.

  Lupis and Meltina went pale.

  “Wait, Sir Sudou...” Meltina aptly stopped Sudou. “Her Highness has given up time out of her busy schedule to hear what you have to say. How dare you leave of your own accord?!”

  Meltina’s wit was like a child’s prank to Sudou.

  “Pardon? But if Her Highness’ concerns don’t have to do with Ryoma Mikoshiba and his treatment... Then my being here is meaningless. I can’t take any more of her precious time. I will have to beg your pardon, in that case.”

  On the surface, his words seemed quite modest, but a single look at Sudou’s eyes made it clear this wasn’t his true intent. He was teasing Lupis and Meltina. Lupis was quite interested in what he had to say, as it could lead to her finding a way out of this stalemate. But she couldn’t let slip the fact that she was wavering over how to answer the question of Ryoma Mikoshiba’s treatment.

  “That’s right... Sudou, I’ll hear you out, since I’ve already given up some of my time for you. Speak,” Lupis ordered Sudou, putting up airs to the best of her ability.

  “I see. Well, since I’m already here...”

  Sudou decided now was the right time and sat back down on the sofa, sneering as he parted his lips to speak.

  “Well, I think it’s quite clear that the question of how to handle Ryoma Mikoshiba is a complicated one given the situation. Were he loyal to the kingdom, you could make him a knight, but he’s a mercenary, so that complicates things. But that said, letting him leave the country is a risk on its own, since he might join another country’s side, just as he joined yours... There’s no telling when he might turn against Rhoadseria.”

  As he spoke, the two’s eyes widened with surprise. He had guessed at their concerns with pinpoint precision.

  “You can’t make him a knight, but you can’t send him away either. But you can’t have him killed, too... Killing a man with so many merits to his name may help you for a time, but would spell trouble in the future.”

  Sudou cut off his words, and examined Lupis’s expression with an upturned gaze.

  Hmm... It really is too much for her, just as I thought. Well, a man who can fight Shardina equally is indeed beyond this woman’s ability to control... However...

  Sudou’s eyes coldly gauged Lupis’s abilities.

  “Hmm... And? How do you intend to resolve that?” Lupis said, feigning disinterest.

  She knew there was little point to hiding it, but clung to it.

  “You cannot make him a knight, and you cannot let him leave for another country.” Sudou smiled. “Then simply make him a noble.”

  Lupis was dumbstruck by his words, as was Meltina, who was standing at her side.

  “Impossible...” Meltina was struggling to even put what he just said into words. “What are you saying, fool? Make a commoner... A vagabond mercenary... into a noble?”

  Sudou nodded.

  “Do you take us for fools?!” Meltina’s shout echoed in the room. “We can’t possibly do that! No... Even if we could, the nobles would never accept that! Who would acknowledge a commoner being made noble?! Making him a knight is more realistic than that!”

  Lupis could only nod in agreement.

  “And what of his territory?! Do you intend to give him one of the royal house’s territories?!”

  Nobles needed territory to govern. Of course, it was possible to give some of the land under the royal house’s direct control and the ones obtained in the civil war. But that would mean the royal house wouldn’t grow stronger that way. Lupis intended to use the civil war as a chance to unify the country entirely under her sovereignty, and she needed land to do that.

  With more land under its control, the royal house would grow financially and in terms of population. It would give it the strength to fight back with the knights by its side should the nobles unite against it again.

  But between those aspirations and the nobles’ sentiments toward commoners, making Ryoma a new noble was impossible.

  Sudou had already predicted these apprehensions. He took out a map from his pocket and spread it over the table.

  “What’s this? A map of the western continent’s eastern side?” Lupis asked.

  Sudou nodded and placed his finger on a single point on the map.

  “Let us make Sir Mikoshiba governor of this territory. What say you? If it’s here, it won’t take away from the royal house’s territories, and none of the nobles should object... On top of that, there’s a low chance of a rebellion breaking out there. As for his title... Hmm. How about we give him the lowest title possible and make him a baron? Though in terms of the size of his territory, he’d probably need to be a duke, but the place being what it is...”

  Sudou’s proposal left Lupis and Meltina without words. The territory he specified was a massive strip of land, approximately an eighth of Rhoadseria’s total territory. Giving so much land to a commoner who was just made noble would be insanity in any other situation. But like Sudou said, there was no chance of the nobles objecting to this. After all, absolutely no one was interested in governing this land...

  “The Wortenia peninsula...” The words slithered from Lupis’s lips.

  The wheel of fate once again began to turn for Ryoma Mikoshiba...

  Lying on his bed in Pireas’s castle, Ryoma stared up into thin air.

  So this is how it ends, huh... Guess I ended up being naive after all...

  Princess Lupis’s stiff facial expression surfaced in Ryoma’s mind.

  That morning, he was summoned for an audience with Princess Lupis. There, he was bestowed the title of baron and the r
ight to govern over the Wortenia peninsula. This was something Ryoma didn’t anticipate whatsoever. He was, in fact, on the cusp of proposing to the Malfist sisters that they pack up and leave the country already.

  All the same, he didn’t refuse the reward. And that was because Ryoma had realized it. The fear hidden behind Lupis’s eyes...

  If Ryoma were to refuse the reward, Meltina would immediately order the room’s guards to attack him. They feared Ryoma that much. And having picked up on that, Ryoma avoided giving an immediate answer. His first priority was to figure out just what the catch here was.

  Even if I can’t say no, there are ways of dealing with this... First, I need to figure out what their angle is.

  Ryoma suppressed the doubts rising up in him, and expressed his gratitude to Princess Lupis. He had to do so, if he was to leave the audience alive...

  The Wortenia peninsula, eh...? That’s quite the funny trick that little bitch pulled on me...

  Recalling the events of that morning, Ryoma cursed Lupis in his heart. There was no one in this room but him. He drove even the Malfist sisters, who were always waiting on him, out of the room, and took the time to contemplate things.

  The red sunlight of dusk poured in from the window, painting Ryoma red. His expression was as cold as ice, but his eyes burned with dark flames of anger.

  He was enraged at being bitterly betrayed by a person he trusted. He kept his heart in check, but hatred for Lupis kept bubbling up within him, alongside self-deprecation. He couldn’t help but be mad at himself for being dumb enough to believe someone as stupid as her.

  Those two emotions mixed together, raging inside Ryoma’s heart. How easy it would be if he could simply put those emotions into voice and scream. But Ryoma couldn’t afford to let those feelings show. At least for now... After all, the owner of this castle, and the future queen of this country, had betrayed him.

  The walls have ears, after all... I can’t be too cautious here... And there’s no telling if there are any peepholes into this room. It’d be bad news if they notice I’m displeased here. And this situation is far worse compared to when I killed that geezer, Gaius...